Ari Goldman, a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former writer for the New York Times, has written an engaging memoir about the year he said Kaddish for his father. Kaddish is recited within the religious community in memory of a family member. This is a story about the power of the age-old ritual and how it reinforces family and community ties.
Goldman writes about how comfortable he feels at his Orthodox synagogue, Congregation Ramath Orah, which was founded in 1942 by Jewish refugees from Luxembourg and is near Columbia University on the upper West Side of Manhattan. There he feels close to the spirit of his father who was also a practicing Orthodox Jew. He writes about how important his synagogue community is to him, especially those who are also saying Kaddish, and using his skills as a journalist he records many conversations with fellow mourners which contribute to a fuller discussion of the significance of saying Kaddish. When he traveled and sought out synagogues where he could say Kaddish, he describes the local synagogue communities and their customs.
On Shabbat he made sure his children came to the synagogue with him and observed him reciting Kaddish for their grandfather. He hopes his children will continue the tradition and will say Kaddish for him. Continuing the tradition of the daily ritual prompted Goldman to think about his father and his relationship with him, and during that year of saying Kaddish, he came to realize that in many ways his father was a role model for how he lives his Jewish life.
To read an interesting personal essay on saying Kaddish, click here.
People
Father’s family
Ephraim Finkelstein- author’s great-grandfather
Nettie – his daughter; married Samuel H.L. Goldman
Marvin Goldman – Nettie and Samuel's son; married and divorced unknown first name Mehler; married Teme, his second wife; author’s father
Shalom Goldman – son of Marvin
Dov Goldman – son of Marvin
Ari Goldman – son of Marvin; married to Shira Dicker; author
Adam, Emma, Judah – the children of Ari and Shira
Ruth Goldman – Nettie and Samuel's daughter
David Miller – author’s cousin
Zalman Deutsch – author’s cousin
Elise Goldman – author’s cousin; married to Murray
Shanna – their daughter
Ian Goldman – author’s cousin; Elise’s brother
Donna – author’s cousin
Debbie Kram – author’s cousin
Debra Kolitz – author’s cousin
Henry and Rochelle Dicker – parents of Shira
Mordi Dicker – brother of Shira
Mother’s family
Tillie Mehler – author’s grandmother
Author’s mother – married and divorced Marvin Goldman
Mindy – mother’s sister; married to Norman Lamm
Minnie, Paulie and Bracha – sisters of Tillie
Friends and Acquaintances
Michael Paley
Eliezer Simonson
Irving Koslowe
Steven Friedman
Joseph Chester
Leo Chester – his son; married Henrietta
Randolph Chester – his son
Jack Nelson
Enrique Levy
Robert Serebrenik
Manfred Tauber
Jeffrey Kobrin
Barry Wimpheimer
Shamir Caplan
James Schmeidler
Allan Kozinn
Deborah Norden
Archie Green
Benjamin Migdal
Ariela Migdal – Benjamin’s granddaughter
Deb Kovsky – married to Chris Apap
Yair Silverman
Sam Shachter and Evelyn Musher
Michael Frank
Avi Weiss
Ben Strauss
Philip and Pauline Sandberg
Louis Sandberg – their son
Elie Spitz
Yosef Eliyahu Hankin
Louis Henkin – his son
Steven Greenberg
Daniel Kurtzer
Yehudah Kurtzer – his son
Fay and Reuven Weiss
Tibor Herdon
Saul Berman
Shimon Kurtz
Mordecai Kurtz – his son
Simcha Bunim Cohen
Eli Shlomo Cohen – his son
Simcha – Eli Shlomo’s grandson
Norbert Abenaim
Rumi Gerard-David
Zvi Vorhand
Moshe Vorhand – his son
Amy Silver
Bryan Bramley
Sam Domb
Places
Jerusalem, Israel
Congregation Ramath Orah, NYC
Har HaMenuchot, Jerusalem, Israel
Congregation Hechal Moshe, NYC
Hartford, Connecticut
Upper West Side, New York City
Great Neck, New York
Rosmarin’s, Monroe, New York
Camp Monroe, Monroe, New York
Kiryas Joel, New York
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